Highlighted Year: Rusty Staub, 1970

Outfielder, Montreal Expos

Age: 26 (April 1)

2^nd season with Expos

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 190 

Prior to 1970:

A native of New Orleans, the red-haired Daniel Joseph Staub received the nickname of “Rusty” as an infant. He played on the New Orleans Jesuit High School baseball team as a first baseman while his brother Chuck was in center field. His American Legion team won the national championship in 1960 and Jesuit High School won the Louisiana AAA title in 1961. He signed a contract with the Houston Colt .45s, who were a year away from joining the National League as an expansion team, for a $100,000 bonus. After hitting well in the Arizona Fall League in ’61, Staub was assigned to the Durham Bulls of the Class B Carolina League where he had an excellent season, batting .293 with a league-leading 23 home runs, 93 RBIs, a .430 OBP, and a .483 slugging percentage. The 19-year-old Staub started the 1963 season with Houston following a strong spring showing, and with veteran Pete Runnels at first base, Staub started the year in right field. He struggled during his rookie season and hit .224 with 17 doubles, 6 home runs, 45 RBIs, and a .309 OBP. A poor start in 1964 caused Staub to be sent down to the Oklahoma City 89ers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he batted .314 in 71 games with 20 home runs, 45 RBIs, a .427 OBP, and a .646 slugging percentage. Returning to the Colt .45s in September he finished the major league portion of his season with a .216 batting average (up from .202 when he was demoted), 10 doubles, 8 home runs, 35 RBIs, and a .272 OBP. Houston had been emphasizing youth in its team building, of which Staub was a key component. The renamed club moved into the Astrodome in 1965 and Staub started off slowly but came on to hit .281 in the season’s second half to finish at .256 with 20 doubles, 14 home runs, 63 RBIs, and a .339 OBP. His batting production was far better on the road than in the spacious new ballpark, and like other outfielders he struggled to keep track of fly balls against the dome’s background. Staub showed great improvement in 1966, batting .280 with 28 doubles, 13 home runs, 81 RBIs, and a .345 OBP. In the field, his 13 assists placed second among NL right fielders and demonstrated the strength of his throwing arm. He was an All-Star for the first time in 1967 as, with his outstanding swing and line-drive power, he led the NL with 44 doubles while hitting .333 with 10 home runs, 74 RBIs, a .398 OBP, and .473 slugging percentage. As the Astrodome was not conducive to home run hitters, Staub tailored his swing accordingly. Staub held out for eight days in 1968 before signing a $45,000 contract. Shifted to first base he batted .291 with 37 doubles, 6 home runs, 72 RBIs, and a .373 OBP, and was again an All-Star. Having run afoul of manager Harry Walker, Staub was traded during the offseason to the expansion Expos, where he returned to right field. In the first season of divisional play in the NL and AL, the first year club finished in the NL East cellar. Typically pitching challenged, they were unable to make the most of the power displayed by outfielders Mack Jones and Staub, plus the surprising rookie third baseman Coco Laboy. Staub batted .302 with 26 doubles, 5 triples, 29 home runs, 79 RBIs, a .426 OBP, and a .526 slugging percentage. He was Montreal’s lone All-Star representative.

1970 Season Summary

Appeared in 160 games

RF – 160, PH – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 699 [9]

At Bats – 569

Runs – 98 [15, tied with Willie McCovey]

Hits – 156

Doubles – 23

Triples – 7 [17, tied with five others]

Home Runs – 30 [12]

RBI – 94 [15, tied with Lee May]

Bases on Balls – 112 [2]

Int. BB – 11 [11, tied with four others]

Strikeouts – 93

Stolen Bases – 12 [19, tied with Cleon Jones, Pete Rose & Don Kessinger]

Caught Stealing – 11 [9, tied with Matty Alou & Tony Taylor]

Average - .274

OBP - .394 [8, tied with Ken Henderson & Jim Wynn]

Slugging Pct. - .497 [17]

Total Bases – 283 [15]

GDP – 7

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 11 [4, tied with Carl Morton & Pat Jarvis]

Sac Flies – 4

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 14, 3B – 3, HR – 15, RBI – 55, AVG – .293, SLG – .517, OBP - .430

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) at Cincinnati 5/30 – 10 innings

Longest hitting streak – 7 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at NY Mets 7/11, (in 4 AB) vs. LA Dodgers 8/1, (in 4 AB) vs. LA Dodgers 8/1 (total 4 HR in double-header), (in 5 AB) at Houston 8/14

HR at home – 13

HR on road – 17

Multi-HR games – 4

Most RBIs, game – 5 at Atlanta 6/6

Pinch-hitting – 2 for 3 (.667)

Fielding

Chances – 327

Put Outs – 308

Assists – 14

Errors – 5

DP – 4

Pct. - .985

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The second-year Expos went 73-89 to finish sixth (last) in the NL Eastern Division, 16 games behind the division-winning Pittsburgh Pirates, while leading the league in fewest hits (1284), and lowest batting average (.237). Going 1-10 to start the season, the Expos quickly found themselves in the NL East cellar. With a lack of hitting to back up some decent pitching, the club surprisingly broke even in July and had a winning record in September. But after rising to fifth place on Sept. 30, a loss in the season finale sealed their last-place finish.

Aftermath of 1970:

Immensely popular in Montreal and called “Le Grand Orange” by the French-speaking fans, Staub became an active promoter of the young club throughout Canada, developed several business sidelines in the city, took classes in French, and even became a wine connoisseur and chef. He played in all 162 games for the Expos in 1971 despite a wrist injury and hit .311 with 34 doubles, 19 home runs, 97 RBIs, a .392 OBP, and a .482 slugging percentage. He was an All-Star for the fifth straight year (including all three in Montreal). But while he was prospering on the field, the Expos were not and in 1972 Staub was dealt to the New York Mets for three young players (SS Tim Foli, 1B Mike Jorgensen, and OF Ken Singleton). He performed well for the Mets in 1972 until suffering a broken wrist when hit by a pitch in June. The injury required surgery that effectively ended his season. Limited to 66 games he batted .293 with 9 home runs, 38 RBIs, a .372 OBP, and a .452 slugging percentage. Back in action in 1973, Staub hit .279 with 36 doubles, 15 home runs, 76 RBIs, and a .361 OBP. The Mets, who were in last place in the NL East in early August, surged to the division title, albeit with only an 82-79 record. They defeated Cincinnati in the NLCS, helped in no small part by Staub’s three home runs. Injuring his shoulder when hitting the outfield fence following a key catch in Game 4, his throwing was hindered in the seven-game World Series loss to the Oakland Athletics, although he batted .423 with 11 hits that included a home run. In 1974, struggling with his weight and an assortment of injuries, he hit a disappointing .258 with 19 home runs, 78 RBIs, and a .347 OBP. His production improved in 1975 to .282 with 19 home runs, 105 RBIs, a .371 OBP, and a .448 slugging percentage. In the offseason, the Mets dealt Staub to the Detroit Tigers in a four-player trade that most prominently included LHP Mickey Lolich, going from Detroit to New York. While Lolich flopped with the Mets in 1976, Staub prospered with his new club, batting .299 with 28 doubles, 15 home runs, 96 RBIs, a .386 OBP, and a .433 slugging percentage. Utilized exclusively as a Designated Hitter in 1977, but despite being unhappy at not playing in the outfield, his bat remained productive as he hit .278 with 34 doubles, 22 home runs, 101 RBIs, a .336 OBP, and a .448 slugging percentage. Staub was still a DH exclusively in 1978 and was again productive, batting .273 with 30 doubles, 24 home runs, 121 RBIs, a .347 OBP, and a slugging percentage of .435. Seeking a contract extension, Staub held out in 1979 and threatened to retire to run his restaurant in New York. He eventually rejoined the club in May but by July 20 he was hitting only .236 with 9 home runs and 40 RBIs. Staub was traded back to the Expos at that point, who were now contenders in the NL East. Used primarily as a first baseman and pinch-hitter upon his return to Montreal, he batted .267 in 38 games with 3 homers and 14 RBIs. During spring training in 1980, Staub was dealt once again, this time to the Texas Rangers where he again found himself typically appearing as a DH. Playing in 109 games he hit .300 with 23 doubles, 9 home runs, 55 RBIs, a .370 OBP, and a .459 slugging percentage. A free agent in the offseason, Staub finished out his career with the Mets from 1981 to ’85 as a pinch-hitter and backup at first base. His .317 batting average in 1981 was his best of those last seasons with the Mets, and he hit a total of 13 home runs with 102 RBIs during those seasons as well. For his major league career, Staub batted .279 with 2716 hits that included 499 doubles, 47 triples, and 292 home runs. He scored 1189 runs and compiled 1466 RBIs, a .362 OBP, and a .431 slugging percentage. With the Expos he batted .295 with 290 runs scored, 531 hits, 86 doubles, 18 triples, 81 home runs, 284 RBIs, a .402 OBP, and a .497 slugging percentage. Appearing in 11 postseason games he hit .341 with 4 homers and 11 RBIs. A six-time All-Star, Staub finished in the top 20 in league MVP voting four times. He also became the first major league player to reach 500 hits with four different teams. The Expos (now Washington Nationals) retired his #10 and he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, the New York Mets Hall of Fame, and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Beyond his playing career he operated two restaurants in New York and became a broadcaster for radio and telecasts of Mets games for several seasons. He also set up two charitable foundations, the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children Benefit Fund and the Rusty Staub Foundation to assist food pantries. Staub died in 2018 at the age of 73.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category will also include Misc. players who don’t otherwise qualify but received MVP votes or were contributors to teams that reached the postseason.